Hartford Student Sings Her Way to Broadway Competition

Macy Bettwieser, a Hartford High School senior, has always loved to sing. She might have been singing before she learned to talk. But, it comes naturally. It is in her genes. Her mom, Anisha, and dad, Stephen, both have musical backgrounds, and her brothers work in the technical side of theater. The family moved to Hartford when Macy was in the third grade, and it didn’t take long for the attraction of the stage to lure her in.

Macy performed in her first musical during fourth grade at Dothan Brook Elementary, under the direction of Lanni Luce West, and “drank the Kool Aid.” Macy was hooked. Musical theater became a staple of her life as she participated in programs, three to four productions per year, around the Upper Valley at Artistree, Hartford Memorial Middle School, Hartford High School, North Country Community Theater, Trumbull Hall Troupe, and Northern Stage. Each offered an additional step up in her journey.

Macy Bettwieser, a Hartford resident, performing at
BroadwayWorld’s “Next on Stage” competition in
New York City in December.

When COVID shut down the world in 2020, Upper Valley Music Center offered a Zoom class, “Singing for the Stage,” taught by UVMC faculty vocal instructor, Julie Ness. For Macy, the class picked up where she’d left off from her last role at Northern Stage, that of Louisa in The Sound of Music. The fates were at work, and Ness soon began working with Macy as her private vocal instructor, providing both popular and classical instruction.

Once the world emerged from the pandemic, Macy picked up where she’d left off with community theater, as well as continuing her work with Ness. As a junior in high school, Macy knew that musical theater was a permanent fixture in her life, and she’d apply to college musical theater programs, but she also considered some more practical matters – eating and paying the rent being foremost in her thought.

Macy appealed to Hartford High School to allow her to enroll in the cosmetology program at Hartford Area Career and Technical Center (HACTC), conveniently located on the same campus, during her senior year, giving her a licensed, employable skillset that would support her musical theatre ambitions. Permission was granted, and Macy is scheduled to finish cosmetology school in May, followed by high school graduation in June.

As the all-important last year of high school approached, Macy continued to refine her craft, and began the grueling task of college applications, which for musical theater, required recording audition video tapes that she sent to over a dozen different programs around the country. Admission to these programs is highly competitive, with 1,500 applications for, maybe, fifteen openings. Macy enlisted her mother – sounding board and moral support for all things – and her “village of mentors and supporters”, including director Lanni Luce West, Hartford High choral director Andrea Nardone, and vocal coach Julie Ness, along with Kevin David Thomas of Northern Stage, to assist with the audition recordings.

As an aside, Macy was sent some information by Northern Stage regarding a contest for high school musical theater students, BroadwayWorld’s “Next on Stage”. It offered the winner valuable mentoring opportunities from Broadway veterans, and a full scholarship to the American Musical and Dramatic Academy in New York City. She sent them a tape, too, and promptly forgot about it.

Months later, while up to her eyeballs in school and preparing for two productions, Macy received an email. She had been selected as one of the top fifteen semi-finalists in BroadwayWorld’s Next on Stage competition! Next steps required a flurry of activity; new music to learn, rehearsals, and recordings, all in a matter of a few days. Macy assembled her team, which Ness refers to as, “big love from a small town,” and got to work. Macy astonished them all by learning the pieces, which varied in tone from joyous and upbeat, to dreary and sad, in record time, taking each bit of coaching to heart, reflecting it in her performances.

Macy and her vocal coach, Julie Ness.

It wasn’t only the judges who would choose who moved on to the final round, but the public.  Online votes would determine the finalists. Being the only entry from New England, against students from California and Texas, Macy didn’t expect much of a turnout. But, Nardone spearheaded the community drive to vote for Macy, and the word spread. Macy advanced to the top three, and was invited to New York City to perform live in the finals, at 54 Below, a speakeasy-style basement cabaret club, one-half block from Broadway.

Macy and her “team” traveled to New York City on December 19 for the final round of judging.  Luce West, Nardone, Ness, and Macy’s strongest supporter, her mother Anisha, descended on NYC on a mission to support their hometown star. The live show was recorded on YouTube and you may enjoy it at this link: bit.ly/4gyhnC9.

While Macy did not win the competition, she received valuable coaching and encouragement, experienced the pressure of the audition process, made new friends, and enjoyed an unforgettable weekend in New York. Competition host, Ben Cameron, told the competitors, “You are all winners and all losers, here and in life.” Ness reinforced this message, “Today, the wind may fill your sails. Tomorrow, maybe not. You can’t let it define your life.”

When contacted for this article, Macy was back in New York with a group from Northern Stage, auditioning live for college musical theater programs, via a process called “Unifieds,” and of course, seeing some Broadway shows. “Unifieds,” Ness explained, is an event where 50 colleges hold twice-yearly live auditions, one in New York City and one in Chicago. Applicants may perform up to six auditions at each event. “It saves the kids and their families a lot of travel and stress.” Macy shared that she had applied to 17 programs, and, so far, been accepted at one.  She will make her final decision later in the spring. “Hopefully before I graduate,” she added. Macy’s greatest cheerleader, her mother, Anisha, is planning some spring campus visits before the final choice is made.

Ness praised Macy for being, “Doubly prepared and demonstrating great leadership qualities, attention to detail, and discipline,” all skills that will serve her well, whichever road she chooses.